MODEL GALLERY

Estimating the Q Factor of a MEMS Gyroscope

Slide-film damping is an important factor to consider when modeling structures with small gaps vibrating in the tangential direction. This effect is illustrated here in a model of a 2-DOF vibratory MEMS gyroscope.

This model focuses on the slide-film damping that occurs due to air viscosity in the thin air layer between the gyroscope’s proof mass and the substrate. The Q factor obtained from this analysis is therefore an upper bound for the considered design.

All other processes contribute to the damping work to further decrease the Q factor. Therefore, if the slide-film damping can be assumed to be the dominating dissipative process in the system, optimizing the Q value obtained from this model will be a good starting point for improving its design.


Deformed shape and boundary plot showing the displacement.


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